


Promises, Promises

by celestialsucculent



Category: One Piece
Genre: Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Fake Character Death, Gen, Nakamaship, Promises
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-12 23:17:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15350922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestialsucculent/pseuds/celestialsucculent
Summary: But then there’s a flash of silver and Zoro plunges his sword into their Captain’s turned back and the squelch of the blade is loud even over the laughter and music. Luffy gives a pained gasp and stumbles.Nami screams, her glass dropping from a limp hand and shattering on the deck.“Ch-Chopper. Oh my god. CHOPPER.”





	1. Chapter 1

It’s the first sunny day they’ve had in ages, and of course that is reason enough for Luffy to want to throw a party, but for some reason, something feels out of place. Nami’s sipping a fruity drink Sanji gave her and trying to place exactly what it is, but...Franky, Usopp, and Chopper are making a fools of themselves dancing on deck, and Brooks strumming a jaunty jig on his violin, and Robin’s smiling her secret smile as she watches the others, and everything is exactly as it should be.  

She turns her head to where Luffy’s standing with Zoro, laughing, and she finally spots it.

There’s a stiffness to Zoro’s shoulders that doesn’t belong there in the midst of his nakama’s happiness. She furrows her brow trying to place whatever could be wrong, but can’t think of a thing. The sun on their skin and the laughter in the air is much to pleasant for Zoro to be in a bad mood.

Before she can dwell too much on it, she sees Luffy turn around abruptly to gasp at something off the starboard side of the ship.

“Zoro! What are those?! Can we eat them, you think??”

Nami rolls her eyes, but she can’t help but smile indulgently at his excitement. She stands up from the deck chair to go and take a look for herself. Robin had read that rare, multi-colored dolphins were common in these waters, and Nami is eager to see if the rumors are true. She picks up her drink and smooths out her skirt, and when she glances back Zoro’s turning to look too. He’s saying something, but his expression’s all wrong--tense--and his hand is on the hilts of his swords. Nami frowns and walks a little faster. Surely not…?

But then there’s a flash of silver and Zoro plunges his sword into their Captain’s turned back and the squelch of the blade is loud even over the laughter and music. Luffy gives a pained gasp and stumbles.

Nami screams, her glass dropping from a limp hand and shattering on the deck.

“Ch-Chopper. Oh my god. CHOPPER.”

And Sanji is already there, pale as a ghost, but pulling Zoro away harshly from their Captain, cursing.

Everyone else is still frozen in shock, staring at the white hilt of Zoro’s sword protruding from their dear captain’s back. Luffy still hasn’t turned around, swaying.

Drip, drip, drip. His blood stains the deck.

Chopper stumbles forward, hooves shaking, tears already in his eyes, to assess the wound. “Luffy…” he says, voice quivering.

“Stop,” Zoro says, voice cold as ice. His expression’s blank, apparently unaffected by what he’s done, and his eyes don’t leave Luffy’s form, “That’s not Luffy. Tell them.”

Nami doesn’t understand what’s happening. But Luffy turns around and he’s---he’s pouting, arms crossed right over Wado Ichimonji’s bloodstained blade.

Usopp gags at the sight of the wound, looking about ready to throw up, “Oh my god…”

But Luffy just whines, with all the petulance of a little kid, “Zoro’s such a meanie! I was having so much fun, but now the game’s all over…”

It is rare to see Brook so serious, and without the animation of his joy and good cheer he looks well and truly dead. A cloud passes overhead, blocking the sun and leaving them in shadows.

“Game?” Brooks says,  “What is the meaning of this?” But Nami thinks they’ve all realized.

Luffy ignores him, leaning closer to Zoro, smiling widely, “How’d you figure it out Zoro?”

Zoro shoves Sanji’s hands away, stalking forward to shove Luffy into the railing of the deck. Chopper whimpers pitifully when Luffy groans at the rough treatment, and Nami reaches out and pulls the reindeer into a hug. There’s no need for him to see this.

Zoro pulls out his second katana and rests it on Luffy’s neck. Nami shudders.

“Where is our Captain?”

“Aww, you’re not going to tell me?” Luffy chuckles, “Stingy!”

“I said,” and Zoro presses down on the blade hard enough to form a band of blood on Luffy’s neck, “Where is Luffy?”

Luffy laughs, “Ne, Zoro’s so dumb! I’m right where you left me!”

“Enough fooling around,” Zoro growls, but his voice is shaking and his mask of blankness has cracked to reveal something desperate and wild, and Nami’s not sure what he’s going to do next.

Thankfully, Zoro doesn’t have time to act. Robin’s voice cuts through the tension on deck, smooth as silk, “Right where we left him? Could you mean the last island we visited perhaps? I doubt an imposter could have gotten on board while we were at sea without our knowledge...”

Luffy turns his head in a way that would crack the neck of a normal person, to look Robin right in the eyes, and Robin meets his gaze steadily. Luffy’s expression is oddly blank, but then he smiles.

“Robin’s so smart!” Luffy--the imposter coos, and Nami doesn’t share in his delight. They were four days travel away from that island. They’d abandoned their captain for that long…! Fooled by some fake.

She can see the rest of the crew coming to that same realization, can see it in Franky’s shaking fists and Usopp’s pale face.

The imposter sees their distress and laughs so hard the sword jiggles. More and more blood drips onto the deck, “Aww, don’t worry. I’m in good hands. I’m sure she has me by now.”

He pauses, “Ah, but I’m not supposed to mention that! Forget I said anything.”

Sanji makes an anguished noise, and walks to Zoro’s side. The imposter’s head swivels to face him as he says, “Hell no! Who is ‘she’?? The person who sent you? What have you done to Luffy??”

“What? I have no idea what you’re talking about,” the imposter lies, whistling out of the corner of his mouth. He looks so much like Luffy fibbing about stealing meat from the kitchen that Nami can hardly stand it. She hugs Chopper closer.

Zoro lets out an agonized sound, “Stop that. Stop--Stop acting like him.”

Zoro’s hands are shaking now, and Nami--she gets it. He’d been hiding it well before, but seeing his most treasured sword sticking out of his precious Captain’s stomach must be something out of a nightmare.

Nami steels herself, and demands, “Change into your true form, creep, or else…” but she can’t think of a threat that would suit this horrible crime. And Luffy’s face has taken on a familiar look of confusion.

“What do you mean Nami? I’m Luffy, I can’t be anyone else,” the imposter says blankly, and Zoro grits his teeth.

“You’re not Luffy, stop pretending and show us your true face!” Zoro shouts. He reaches behind Luffy’s back to grab Wado’s hilt, and twists. Luffy--the imposter Nami reminds herself shakily--lets out a choked breathe and begins to cough. Blood splatters onto the deck from between his fingers.

Usopp pushes past Sanji to shove Zoro away. He’s crying. “Stop this! We can’t take this anymore!” Nami doesn’t remember when she’d fallen to her knees, when Chopper had started to cry into her arm. The look in Sanji’s eyes is electric, his cigarette lays smouldering on the deck.

This was just some imposter, pretending to be their captain. But whoever they were, they looked so much like Luffy, acted so similar, it was hard to tell the difference. The Strawhats hated to see their captain in pain--to be the cause of that pain is unbearable. Usopp is right. No one could take more of this.

Luffy’s smile is red with blood now, his eyes shaded by the brim of his hat. Nami has never been more afraid.

“It’s alright Usopp,” Luffy says, and he looks Zoro straight in the eye, “I always knew it could end this way, ever since the beginning.”

Franky shakes his head, “Shut up! You don’t know what you’re talking about.” But Zoro looks pale. Luffy sways forward, too weak to stand, and Zoro catches him instinctually. Nami has never seen Luffy look so blank and empty. She sees Zoro shudder.

“What was it that you said? If I do anything to cause you to abandon your ambitions...I’d have to apologize on the end of your blade,” Luffy cocks his head to the side, “How long have you dreamed of this moment?”

Zoro looks as if he were about to be sick.

“That’s not really Luffy, Zoro. Remember that,” Robin says, but she is just as pale as everyone else on deck. Luffy twists awkwardly in Zoro’s arms to grab his straw hat. He sweeps it off his own head and places it right on top of Zoro’s green hair.

“So long, Zoro,” Luffy smiles again, kindly, and Nami has never seen something so cruel.

Luffy and his hat fade into the wind, like one of Nami’s mirages, but the blood remain, staining the deck, and Zoro’s hands, and Wado. The sword clatters to the ground, and lays there in the mess.

Zoro puts his head in his shaking hands, but not before Nami sees the grief and horror in his expression. The crew is silent, the party forgotten.

If only Luffy were here.


	2. Chapter 2

_ Zoro remembers the roughness of the straw scratching his forehead and the squelching of the blade slicing through his Captain’s body so clearly, but even more clearly than that, he remembers the blood--so much blood everywhere, everywhere, everywhere, on the ship and his hands and his sword, so much blood. His promise with Kuina is stained, his once white sword is turned red with  _ **_blood_ ** _ and he can see the life of the Captain he has sworn to protect in that crimson, flooding forth with every drop spilled, brilliance fading away. He feels himself crumbling under the weight of so much blood, and a rasping voice smiles at it all.  _

_ “So long Zoro.” _

Zoro shudders. Those moments play through his head so vividly, over and over, but the aftermath comes to him in splinters. The murmurings of the crew as he lay in his Captain’s blood are indistinct, and he barely remembers walking past their shock and heartbreak into the bowels of the ship. 

He does remember stumbling upon a sink, and how the blood had dried and clung to his hands. It had been hard to wash it away. Then there had been a firm grip on his shoulder, and Zoro had let himself be lead. Even as he walked, there had been nothing but the pain--the knives scrapping at his insides--and the blood swirling down the drain. 

Which brought him to now, when the door to the galley opened, and there were Zoro’s nakama, each one holding a cup of something warm to chase the cold from their hearts. Something in Zoro seems to ease and tighten at the same time, when he looks at them. 

Other than the quiet sounds of sipping, the galley is silent. All eyes are on him, but Zoro can only look towards the spot usually occupied by their rubbery, energetic captain and see the absence of joy and light and know that he is the cause. 

The firm grip on his shoulder twitches, “Come, Zoro, we have much to discuss.”

Robin glides back to her seat, and as Zoro pulls out a chair as well, Sanji places a bottle of sake in front of him, and then leans back onto the counter, flicking his lighter. Zoro grabs the cup and takes a long, slow gulp. The burn can’t quite hide the empty feeling inside his chest. 

It is almost like someone has died, Zoro thinks, cradling the drink in his hand. He recalls Kuina’s funeral, the darkness of that day, the coldness of the rain that beat upon the coffin. He remembers the way he was a shell of himself, numb. 

He sees this in himself again, in the crew--in the way Choppers whole body seems to droop, in the way Nami’s usual fire has dimmed to embers, the way Usopp sits, staring at his hands without a word. 

Zoro takes another long gulp. Luffy’d be able to fix this...but he was the problem wasn’t he? 

“I think it’s time for some explanations. Zoro-san?” Brook stares at him with empty eye sockets, and Zoro pulls away from his thoughts. 

He doesn’t quite know what Brook is getting at, so he shrugs and states the obvious, “There was an imposter on the ship, and I got rid of them.” 

“We’re going to need a bit more than that!” Nami barks, though her hands still shake. Then she takes a breath, and seems to steal herself. She says in a sickly sweet tone, “If you’re going to be an idiot--”

“ _ Oi _ ,” Zoro complains, but Nami takes no heed. 

“--then we’ll have to start simple. How did you figure out that he was an imposter?” 

Zoro tosses around the question in his head, “He said something weird. And he’d been feeling a little...off. For a while.” 

Zoro shrugs, and Nami stares at him in disbelief, “I’m doubling your debt.” 

“What the hell!” Zoro seethes, “You witch--” 

But the rest of the crew is just as unimpressed. “Man, is that really all it takes for you to gut someone like that? So not super,” Franky shivers. 

Brook nods at Franky in agreement so furiously, it almost looks like his head is going to topple right off, “And here I was sure that there was some profound reason behind Zoro’s actions!” 

Robin takes a sip of her drink as the crew descends into shouts. Over the clamor, Usopp wails, jerking up to latch onto Zoro’s shoulder desperately, “I would like to assure you that I am Ussop. I don’t feel off at all, right!?!” 

Zoro grits his teeth, “Will you knock it off!” He pushes the liar off him, and Usopp lands on the floor with a thud. 

Sanji sighs, exhaling a plume of smoke, “Morons.” 

Zoro whirls around to the shitty cook, mouth open to respond, but then a sniffle cuts over the noise, and the somber air around the crew returns in an instant--the sense of normalcy brought by the commotion and noise in the galley is broken. Chopper puts a hoove to his mouth to stifle the noise. 

“Sorry,” he whispers, tears making tracks in his soft fur, “I just don’t understand Zoro! I miss Luffy.” 

The gentle-hearted reindeer stares up at him with big doe eyes, and Zoro immediately reaches out to pat the little guy’s head. 

“I’m trying Chopper, it’s just hard to explain...his presence felt off. Weaker somehow?” Zoro says helplessly. He’s hoping to see understanding dawning on his crewmates’ faces, but they just shake their heads at a loss. 

Robin, though, gives a little thoughtful sound, “You keep saying he ‘felt’ wrong. Could this have something to do with haki?” Zoro pauses. 

“That’s gotta be it,” he says, nodding, suddenly sure of it, but Sanji’s skeptical. 

“Haki? Are you sure?” he says, “I didn’t feel anything off, and let’s face it, my Observation Haki’s better than yours Marimo.” 

“Che, whatever helps you sleep at night,” Zoro mutters, and continues before Sanji can do more than let out an outraged noise, “Luffy’s a pretty powerful guy. His power, his Conqueror’s Haki, it sizzles under his skin a lot of the time. Can’t you feel it sometimes, when he gives you that one  _ look _ ? The imposter couldn’t copy that. That’s...well, that’s part of the reason I figured it out.” 

The crew considers this. 

“Wow, an actual coherent explanation,” Usopp says thoughtfully, “That was almost poetry by your standards Zoro.” 

Zoro shoots him a disgruntled look as Robin says, “It does have merit. Conqueror’s Haki is said to be the user’s will made physical--it is almost a part of their soul in a way. It is an incredibly rare ability to possess, and even an accurate copy could not truly have our Captain’s will.”

More of the crew looked convinced by Robin’s confirmation. Zoro isn’t sure whether he should feel insulted or not. Before he can decide, Sanji sighs and says begrudgingly, “I don’t remember feeling any Conqueror’s Haki from Luffy either. I didn’t think much of it. People’s haki fluctuates from time to time naturally...but it looks like you’re right for once.”

“For once?” Zoro scoffs, “I know Luffy’s haki like the back of my hand. You’re just pissed because you’re the one who's an idiot this time, Dart-brow.”

“Dart-brow?! Say that to my face!” 

“I just did!” 

Sanji’s pushing off the counter, scowling, and Zoro grins because he could really use a fight right now. Zoro pushes back his chair, reaches for his weapon, and...his hand closes on thin air. 

Zoro feels off balance. Sanji’s cut off by the witch (“You’d really fight like this in front of a lady?” wiggling “Sorry Nami-swan!!”) and Zoro sinks back into his seat without a word. 

He hadn’t realized he’d left Wado on deck. The fact that he’d let the sword out of his sight for so long felt unforgivable. Some people would say that losing their sword is like losing a limb. For Zoro, it’s not like that with Wado Ichimonji--the weapon is so much more than a mere  _ body part _ (Zoro’d almost cut a few of those off without thinking twice about it). 

He’d sworn his two most important promises on that sword. 

His fellow swordsmen is the one to recognize Zoro’s plight, “I hope I wasn’t overstepping Zoro, but I moved your blade into the galley with the rest of us.” 

Brook inclines his head to the corner of the room, and Zoro turns to see his sword propped up on the wall. Wado Ichimonji sits, untouched in the corner of the room, blood drying on the blade and crusted to the hilt. 

Zoro’s hand twitches. 

It was painful to see the blade so dirty…to remember why. 

_ Zoro had felt that something was off with their Captain for days, (it was small things, little moments, a smile that was slightly off, too long a pause, things that made something in the pit of Zoro’s stomach turn strangely), but he wasn’t sure what it could be. He’d been sticking close since then, watching, waiting. Zoro had almost choked his weird feeling up to paranoia, when he heard Luffy sigh.  _

_ He was still leaning on the railing, gazing at the ocean, when he whispered, almost to quietly for Zoro to hear,“So much fun. It’s too bad this won’t last much longer.”  _

_ Zoro froze, hand drifting to the hilts of his swords. Luffy looked all hollowed out, face blank, eyes cold. A threat.  _

_ Then the moment passed, and Luffy returned, ohhing and ahhing at some dolphins that had surfaced just off the ship. But Zoro had seen.  _

_ That wasn’t Luffy.  _

_ Zoro had to protect the crew.  _

_ It was almost too easy to jab his sword into the imposter’s back. He was glad he couldn’t see the fake’s face, see Luffy’s features twist into shock and betrayal.  _

_ But, it was even worse, when Luffy turned around there was no shock, just a sort of sick acceptance. An expectation.  _

_ “How long have you dreamed off this moment?” He asks.  _

...Zoro is no coward. He will not run away from this. When he grabs his sword, it’s firmly by the hilt. Years of training ensure his hands don’t shake as he regains his seat at the table, setting the weapon on his lap. 

Chopper has no such training--he leans as far away from the blade as possible, bottom lip quivering. 

“Surely there was another way,” Nami whispers, staring at the soiled weapon sadly. Zoro twitches. 

Then, Robin sighs, pain in her eyes, “The imposter was incredibly accurate. It was unlike anything I’ve ever heard of--able not only to mimic mannerisms, but also memories, and even...physical abilities. Imagine fighting against our Captain’s indomitable strength...we surely would have died.” 

Robin smiles lifelessly and takes another sip of her coffee. Brook shivers, “How morbid!” Usopp, meanwhile, has turned a pasty white. He chuckles nervously. 

“Died?” he squeaks, “Surely not against all of us!” 

Zoro shakes his head. His deep voice echoes through the room like thunder, “Luffy is incredibly fast...it would’ve been easy for the imposter to pick us off one by one if they wanted. And that’s just if they played fair...one giant pistol would’ve been enough to destroy the ship.” 

Robin sets her cup delicately onto the saucer, “With the Sunny transformed to splinters,” Franky winces, “the devil fruit users would drown in the sea, and the rest would be left stranded, the nearest island miles away, no supplies to survive...a slow death at sea.” 

Silence. Zoro doesn’t care much about what-ifs, but he can tell that the crew is unsettled by the possibilities. He knows what Luffy would do if he knew his crew was in such a worried state. He can’t quite do it the way his Captain can, but...

“It isn’t over yet,” Zoro says, “Our Captain is waiting for us to find him. Our  _ real _ Captain is fighting to be with us. He’s hopeless, but he’s a lucky and you know he’ll be waiting for us. He’s gonna be King of the Pirates, after all.” 

Zoro smiles savagely, and bangs his hands down on the table, “Now all we’ve got to do is find him, and kill the bastards who took him from us.” 

And Zoro’s meager words are enough. He can feel the crew’s determination like it is a physical force. 

Franky turns the boat around, and Nami adjusts their course. Zoro stares into the sea, Wado’s bloodied and beside him. He so desperately wants to see Luffy’s smile...and he will, no matter the cost. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments/encouragement guys! I know that everyone is really curious as to where Luffy is...he will enter the story next chapter if things go to plan. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


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